A Cruel Fairy Tale
by Katan Yue
Summary: Now that Shinra has sent Sora to aid Riku’s coven, he plots to destroy Riku with Sora’s unintended help. Sora and Riku are sent to different tasks with one mission oppress the rebellion, but what are Shinra's intentions? Chapter 4 is now complete!
1. Chapter One: Fragments

**A Word from the Author: **

This fic is Alternate Universe and a yaoi type at that. Yaoi meaning male x male. Don't like don't read. I will also try to put the least amount of commentary as possible, so here it goes.

**Pairings:** multiple

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in this story belongs to me but this plot line and I have no monetary gain or profit. The only thing I have is your approval or disapproval of this story and I always appreciate constructive criticism. Vulgar criticism is by no means accepted. Keep in mind that things in the story might change, so be patient. Thank you.

**Katan Yue **

A Cruel Fairy Tale

Chapter One: Fragments

_Once upon a time, when the world began anew, there was a beautiful queen by the name of Jenova. She was the fair and gentle monarch of a kingdom far beyond the sea. Queen Jenova had three beautiful sons. The first born son, had very tanned skin as dark as the earth and eyes as golden as the sun itself. The second son of Jenova had skin as white as Ivory, and eyes as green as the deep wide sea. He was ten years younger that his brother, but was skilled with a sword. But when things became dire, Jenova bore a third son. Jenova's third son had creamy skin and deep blue eyes that were as vast as the pretty sky above. He was full of justice, love, and compassion for all of mankind. His name was_

_**29 YEARS AGO**_

****

_Sora…_

_Hmmm…_

_Sora…!...So…ra…wake up..Sora…_

"Hmmm………?"

"S-O-R-A…wake up Sora or you'll be late for class, Sora?"

"Whaaat…?" The boy named Sora was abruptly awakened from his sleep. Frantically, he woke up reeling towards the edge of the bed and falling to the floor with a light _thump _sound.

"Mom…?" Sora whined dazedly, dizzy, and confused as he unwrapped his lithe, petite body from the white cotton sheets. "Come on Sora. You don't want to be late for class." His mother said moving towards the window and drawing the white curtains to the sides. "Mom…? Today is Saturday…why would I be late for class…" He complained dramatically as his sapphire blue eyes blinked almost rapidly in an attempt to adjust to the morning light. "Don't give me that little cute pout of yours, mister. Did you forget the promise that you made to your girlfriend Kairi? You said you'd help her with the school testing preparation seminar starting this Saturday, remember?" She chided her forgetful son with a ruffle of soft, spiky hair.

"Mom……...!"

"Don't you oh, mother me and start getting ready." Sora's mother ordered before she left the room. "Arghh…" The blue eyed boy groaned in exasperation while he rubbed his sleepy eyes, walked towards the closet to pick out his uniform, then turned to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

**_THE PRESENT: GLACIER PRISON _**

"Ahhrghh…this is so fucked-up…just move the damned piece will ya." The flamed colored hair seemed to flair with fire at the spat of his frustrated words.

"Shut up Axel." Warned the other voice.

"Just move the fucking piece, leech" Axel shot another nasty glare at his red-head companion.

"Look…" the red-head started sarcastically "we have all the time in the world, in fact we have an eternity to play a fucking game of chess. What haven't had your rabies shot yet, mutt?" The red-head finished with a proud smirk plastered to his pale face. "Com'ere boy…" The red-head whistled "fetch…" and he waved his retractable baton in front of Axel. Being the last limits of Axel's patience, he shot forward with one swift movement and toppled the table over; scattering all of the frosted glass chess pieces onto the white, cold marble floor. "Great, now we're going to have to start the game all over again thanks to your temper. Are all lycanthropes as smart as you…?" The red-head man inquired impatiently. "Very fucking funny Reno." The flamed color-haired man summoned a small fire ball and shot it at his companion who barely dodged it.

"Shit Axel? The alarmed Reno began smothering a few burning flames from the tips of his riled-up hair. "Don't get your panties all up in a bunch. It was just a game oookay. Oookay"

"Vampires…" Axel shot indignantly.

"Lycanthropes…" Reno responded in a mock tune.

Before they could once again resume their cat and dog behavior, the massive wooden door shot open with a terrible _thunk_ sound that reverberated through the empty building. The snowy, cold storm oozed through the open doors and dashed with a powerful blow inside the room. Both Axel and Reno snapped their heads simultaneously to take a good look at the unknown intruders. "What the hell are you doing here!" Axel and Reno questioned in unison, their eyes glaring at the three black clad intruders. A tall, black-robed hooded figure stood in the middle of two other men. The man to the right was clad in a black leather pants and vest, while the other man was clad in a simple, black cotton trench coat with a military collar.

"**Get the crystal…"**

The deep, dark, rich voice of the hooded creature commanded imperiously; his black gloved fingers pointing to something beyond the second double set of doors ahead of them.

"No **fucking** way you assholes!" Axel began to summon a fire wall surrounding Reno and himself.

"Stormy…" The other black clad figure began "finish them off."

"Whatever you say Belthie" The black leather clad man transformed his human appearance into one of utter death. His eyes turned white, his jagged teeth a mesh of white and yellow, his lips an icy bluish purple, and his skin pale with black veins seeping through his flesh in a beyond twisted facial expression. He raised his arms to the sky and opened his mouth to release a hollow, piercing shriek that immediately had Axel and Reno covering their sensitive ears. Once the shriek had rendered his opponents useless, he called upon a powerful gust that sent both guardians darting through the rock covered walls of the next chamber.

_Hannnh…………_

"Your turn. Belthezor." The hooded figure commanded.

At the command, Belthezor lounged forward and his human appearance changed less dramatically that his companion. His skin turned black, a red strip of red skin across his eyes and bridge of the nose, another strip of red skin running from his forehead trough the back of his bald head. His yellow piercing eyes, locked on his two rising opponents.

"Very well…" His eyes skimmed the two targets as they rose a little wobbly to their feet. Their disorientation apparent in the clumsy movement of their hands brushing the debris of sand and rock wall; they began their stance.

"Game over boys." Belthezor stated coldly. With the speed of a blazing demon, Belthezor launched his body towards his opponents and grabbed them by the neck. With a jolt of powerful electricity, he sent the two pained wracked bodies like projectiles into the end wall of the rock chamber. Both bodies crashed into the wall; immediately smearing blood as their bodies plummeting to the floor.

"We finally found him." Were the last words both guardians heard as they began to loose consciousness.

"They stole the crystal……we need back-up……" Axel's labored words could barely be said to his companion who was steadily regaining consciousness.

"To-though sh-shit bro…" Reno tried a faint laughed that failed miserably. His body ached like hell itself, and every broken bone in his body screamed for help. "Ghnnh…I think that my phone broke into a trillion pieces…" Reno clarified looking at his broken cell phone when his companion somehow managed a death glare.

"Gahhh……" Axel groaned in excruciating pain as he crawled next to Reno.

"Use your v-vampire p-powers to…argh……to c-all them, you ass." Axel breathed when he painfully reached his destination. "I'm ble-eding t-to death. I don't h-have any powers right now. N-no blood n-no p-powers, re-mem-ber?" Reno closed his eyes again as a lapse of dizziness swept through him. "You're already dead r-remember?" Axel countered with dry sarcasm. "Shit…I…don't wanna die……in this hell hole……I…refuse to." Axel stated stubbornly wile he dashing the palm of his hand, and lifting it to Reno with the last of his strength. "This…is the last…t-time……it's gonna happen…ok…" Axel slowly placed the bleeding palm of his hands to Reno's lips, and winced when he felt the twin sharp teeth pierce his skin followed by a sucking motion. "Ahh……fuck…" Axel cried as he felt the pain and pleasure from Reno's bite.

_Fuck…_...

Without being told to stop, Reno left the other guardian's hand and started his Blood Summon.

Reno's body felt hot and burning. The new acquired blood boiled trough his veins and rushed to his eyes making them blood shot. His vision blurred as it skimmed over towns, cities, and continents until the astral presence reached its destination. There was a young man peacefully resting in a large bed between crimson covered sheets. His silver hair sprawled along the many pillows, while some of the strands framed that peaceful angelic face.

RI-KU came the voice like whisper ghosting around his ears. RI-KU

H-E-L-P U-S

And the young man sat up with a start.

"It's done……" Reno said flatly.

"I can't die in here…Axel decided "I have someone……someone who is waiting for me…" Axel closed his eyes and the picture of a beautiful, young spiky-haired blonde popped into his mind.

_Axel?...Axel?…Promise me that you'll come back ok._

"Is it Roxas?" Reno inquired.

"Fuck you, Reno" Axel retorted "it's not fair…you saw it in my blood…" he whined.

Reno smiled a true smile and gave a shaky sigh. "I too…h-have someone waiting…" Reno confessed. "Her name is Tifa…and she'll be one hell of a pissed bitch if I…die on her." He closed his eyes and saw Tifa's pink lips smiling gently at him.

"She that bad?" Axel questioned.

"Na, she's the sweetest, well mannered girl I've ever met. She jus hates my sailor-cussing mouth." He responded with another genuine smile "plus…she warned me that if I ever used another bad word in front of her, she'd wash my mouth with soap…"

"Go Tifa…" Axel tried to sound enthusiastic, but the pain would not allow him.

"Shut-up Axel…Roxas also dislikes you sailor-swearing mouth."

_Axel! Don't use such foul language! I've never met another man that swears as much as you do. _

Ha, if Roxas only knew he was working with another man that swore just as much as he did, both Tifa and Roxas would be washing both him and his companion's cussing mouth with a brand new bar of soap.

"Fucking dog…" Reno commented.

"Stupid leech…" Axel responded.

Soon, both their pain wrecked bodies fell into unconsciousness once again.

**_Another comment form the author: _**So what did you think of the story? Was it worth to read it? Or not? Please forgive the exstensive use of profanity, but its goes perfectly with the characters in this story. Hence the M rated prject. Not all chapters will be like this, so don'tbe frightened.Should I continue or should I just dump the whole project? This is my first fanfic so do go easy on me k? Like I say, I like constructive criticism, but no vulgar criticism please. If I get one positive comment I'll keep writing the story just for them k? Ideas are always welcome.

Katan Yue


	2. Project SORA part 1

**A Cruel Fairy Tale**

By: **Katan Yue**

**Disclaimer**_: I do not own certain characters owned by Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy series, and Dirge of Cerberus games._

**Chapter 2: Project SORA part 1 **

_One night, a big meteor fell from the sky and landed in the outskirt of Queen Jenova's kingdom. From coast to coast the people of Jenova's Kingdom panicked. Every one believed that the meteor was a bad omen; an object to bring death and misfortune to their prosperous kingdom. _

"_Your majesty…please, do not think of going close to that **foreign object**. The oracle has warned all of us of it's powers of evil and destruction."_

_Jenova's royal counselors, wizards, and seers, warned their queen about the misfortune that the meteor would bring, but she never listened. For you see, young Queen Jenova was always curious and energetic. She did not believe in such superstitions; she was a seeker of truth. She wanted to prove to everyone that their superstitions were unfounded._

_One night, a month after the meteor had fallen to earth, in the dead of night, young Queen Jenova went to investigate the bizarre event._

_That night, everything changed_………

**Venture Tower, Wednesday 2:25 a.m.**

A mysterious individual walked through the deserted halls of Venture Tower; a corporate building and a safe gathering where the elders of the vampire covens met on important occasions. The strange figure kept walking idly towards the pent house of Venture Tower. For the moment, the elevator in Venture Tower was stuck on the 7th floor; making him find another way up to the pent house by using the construction lift located in the 10th floor of the building. The black robed figure could visibly cringe at the thought of all of New York's Ancient Primogen gathered in one place at once.

_What could they be thinking_……

The only reason why the elders met was to pass more oppressing laws against rogue vampires, to uphold the ludicrous rules of the Masquerade, and for the protection and safety of their own skin. Everyone else did not matter.

**Virtue's Council, Venture Tower 2:43 a.m. **

Voice 1: "_They_ took the crystal……"

Voice 2: "I see……"

Voice 3: "Why would _they_ steal the crystal? The two rogues guarding the crystal at Glacier Prison were easily defeated by some unknowns."

Voice 1: "But the crystal……is too heavy…too massive to be transported by _human_ means. _They_ practically tore the chains and unhinged the crystal from the stone prison."

Voice 2: "_They_ used a form of teleportation."

Voice 3: "Then **we are** certainly in trouble…… They now have the 'key' to our very existence. How could they know where the 'key' was? No one else is supposed to know, but us…"

Voice 2: "_They _used the same methods we used to get our hands on the crystal. If I was a powerful enough psychic to intercept the **_key's_** body, then, _they _deployed their own psychic to find it."

Voice 4: "But no one is powerful enough to find the 'key'. It literally took several millennia to find it. How could they-"

Voice 2: "Shelke……"

Voice 5: "Namine, are you sure? No one has heard of Shelke since………"

Voice 2: "The First Holy Inquisition when the first Christians… first surfaced after the Underworld Rebellion."

Voice 5: "Are you sure it wasn't a Methuselah?"

Voice 2: "I'm positive Amon…a Methuselah has the knowledge, but not the power to pull something like that."

Voice 3: "Then we are doomed. Without a doubt, they will awaken the 'key' and use it to their advantage."

Voice 6: "Relax……"

The suave, regal voiced man said amusedly as he made his way into the meeting room. He had been listening to the debate long enough to be exasperated by the Ancient's worries and brainless speculations. Only Namine and Amon were intelligent enough to hold his interest.

_Unison:_ "Rufus Shinra…"

The tall, blonde man smirked in satisfaction at the surprise he had caused the foolish Ancients. Rufus Shinra could be a tad cold and intimidating with his expensive, antique white colored suits, and icy blue eyes. If that was not enough to intimidate anyone, his special mercenary force of vampires known as TURKS would do a good job of intimidating anyone in his path.

"Yes, the one and only."

Voice 5: "You seem too confident, Shinra."

"Ah…I see that you still have issues with trust, Amon."

Voice 5: "Don't play games with us Shinra. Tell us, what do you have up your sleeve?"

"Spoken like a true soldier and hunter, Amon."

Voice 3: "This is hardly the time to argue! We have met here tonight, because we have reached a crossroads at this point. The key has been stolen and we need to find it before anybody else awakens it and manipulates it as they wish."

"Relax, Ladies, Gentlemen." Shinra address the members of the Virtue's Council with a curt bow.

"What they have in their hands now, is neither the 'key' nor the 'fail safe'. What they have in their hands is nothing but a soul less shell trapped inside a crystal." Rufus Shinra looked at the around him with cold, uncaring eyes. This meeting was starting to take a toll on his patience.

"Namine…… Amon…… have you forgotten about the trial held after the Underworld Rebellion? I guess that after a couple of millennia memory does seem to forget a couple of important details."

Turning around, Shinra made his way to his seat with fast, graceful strides. Shinra then gracefully pointed towards a dark corner of the Venture Tower's meeting room.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, to ease your worries and concerns about this matter, I've decided to entrust Riku here with the important mission of finding that……very special group of rebels that dare defy us."

Commotion, shock, uproar, disapproval; these were the mixed feelings expressed by the Primogen of the Virtue's Council as the young; silver-blonde man stepped forward from the darkness of the room. The young man's black robes and a blindfold over his eyes; a respectful ceremonial gesture when in the presence of an Elder Primogen.

_Shock_: "How can you let a mere rebel, rogue, riff-raff vampire like him…take such delicate matters into his own hands?"

_Anger_: "Is this your idea of a game, Shinra! The fate of our lives in _his_ hands? Is this why **we** gave **you** the title of Prince in New York City?"

_Resentment_: "Why Shinra! We could send any of our best men to find that damned crystal! Why rely on these 'gun for hire' types when I could lead the operation my self and without any casualties!"

"Why not? Think of it Amon. I do not think that somebody, alien to these matters would take the opportunity and risk to steal the crystal for no apparent reason. No foreigner knew where the crystal was. I'm going to guess it was an 'inside' job. Would you not agree with me Amon?"

"But why him? His group has the crystal failure on their belt. What makes you think that they won't fail this time around?"

"If you'll excuse me…" The silver-haired blonde interrupted. "Although we did fail to protect the crystal from Glacier Prison, the investigation conducted by us has revealed that it was the rebel group Anima Mundi who was behind the attack."

Shinra looked with interest at the silent war waging between the HUNTER Primogen, and the riff-raff vampire that was Sephiroth's childe.

Now this…will get interesting.

"What proof do you have young one." Amon demanded coldly. He was the top soldier for the HUNTER project.

Riku bowed his head politely; this was a mandatory way of both addressing and indirectly challenging someone of such high rank.

"The proof that Anima Mundi was involver in Glacier Prison's incident is in the fact that…our men were not killed. The rebel group of Anima Mundi never kills their opponents that are alien to the conflict."

"Is that all you have young one. Heh then you are really useless."

"If you'd let me finish Sir. Reno and Axel mentioned that Belthezor and Storm had attacked them. Both of these individuals have been known to be faithful members of Anima Mundi. This however, is not all." Riku said placing a set of photographs on the table. "These pictures were taken from where the crystal once stood. According to Vincent Valentine, these are protective barriers known as 'circles'. They were used alongside with white magic, Anima Mundi's **only **choice of magic."

Rufus Shinra could not help but clap. This showdown of tactics, and Amon's shocked expression was priceless, a real Kodak Moment. No one had outsmarted Amon in quite a while. He was amused that a mere rouge vampire was able to get the upper hand on veteran HUNTER Amon. But he knew that Riku was not an ordinary rogue. Riku was _The Great_ Sephiroth's childe after all.

"You see Amon. No need to worry. I trust Riku to do a fine job of finding these troublesome assholes after all, Riku's sire is none other than Sephiroth, and we all know that Sphiroth is one of the first vampires to ever exist."

Everyone gasped in utter shock and Riku clenched his teeth in silent hate and resentment. Just because he was Sephiroth's childe, that didn't mean he was supposed to be this great vampire. He was not supposed to carry Sephiroth's greatness as an unbearable weight on **his** shoulders.

"Fine, let's see what The Great Sephiroth's childe can do about this." Amon said in a silent challenge towards the young vampire.

"Do not distress further upon this matter, Amon. To give you all a piece of mind and to ensure the complete success of this mission, I have decided that project SORA will aid Riku and his band of……_followers_…to guarantee **our **success."

If up to this moment Riku had secretly seethed from the Virtue's Council cruel contempt, he now felt like burning everyone inside Venture Tower for his own satisfaction however, he knew better than to mess with Primogens in an Elysium site.

_To be continued_……


	3. Crystal Raven

Cruel Fairy Tales

By: Katan Yue

**_Disclaimer:_** see chapters one and two.

**_Special thanks to:_** realdarkangel and Neriad for being the only ones to review thus far.

Also, at the end of this story there will be an author's commentary giving you a little information about the story incase you are lost.

**Chapter 3: **Crystal Raven's

_The sky was dark by the time that Queen Jenova escaped the castle by disguising herself as a commoner. In her black robes, the young queen became one with the night as she sneaked out towards the forsaken meteor site. She was impressed by the huge size of the meteor, but she was even more impressed by the gigantic crate left by the meteor in what once had been fertile soil. _

_With great difficulty she descended towards the pit of the crater where the meteor lay. When she finally reached her destination, Queen Jenova found something completely unexpected. She noticed that the meteor had a strange glow about it. It was as if the meteor was alive somehow. The huge rock began to glow in time with Jenova's rapid heartbeat; instantly drawing her body, her mind, and her soul to it. Entranced by the meteor's fiery glow, Jenova reached out to touch it._

**_No_**……**_No_**………**_Noooooo_**…………!

_Jenova screamed in agony as the crystal began to devour her soul. Shards of smoky darkness began to seep from the meteor as Jenova touched it. The darkness began to envelop her body as she tried to pry her hands off the meteor, but all was useless as the darkness began to devour her life, her soul._

_Finally, everything became nothing but darkness_……

**Crystal Raven's Flat 9:25 a.m.**

It was raining.

Riku could hear the soft patter of raindrops against his bedroom's window. His acute, preternatural ears were able to hear the raindrops falling flat on the wet soil, or resounding rhythmically against the puddles of water nearby. Somehow, Riku always found the sounds of the pouring rain to be quite relaxing. Riku had been awake for three hour now; the constant nightmares repeating over and over in every supernatural creature's dreams. Why did they have to dream those dreams in form of a fairy tales? They were cruel and constant; like a mantra that would repeat over and over in their sleep.

_Why_…_Why_……

Still, Riku refused to open his eyes. Even after hearing the red-head girl sneak into his bedroom, Riku still refused to open his eyes. The silver blonde vampire had felt the girl's slender body cuddle against him; the girl's nimble fingers tracing gentle, circular patterns against the bare skin of his arms. Yet again he refused to acknowledge her presence. She continued her gentle ministrations in an attempt to awaken him, but when the hours had passed without a reaction from the sexy silver blonde vampire, she fell asleep.

Lifting the covers off his bed, Riku took the opportunity to sneak away from the girl. Quickly he snatched his navy blue satin robe to cover up his current state of complete nakedness. A few months ago, the young vampire girl that lay sleeping in his bed had confessed to having feelings of love for him. He simply could not return those feelings. He had politely refused her advances and he had no desire to lead her imagination in the wrong direction.

A giant roar of thunder tore through the darkened skies just as a slight rustle of fabric came from the bed.

"So you finally woke up Riku, you lazy bum." Riku heard the girl's playful voice tease him.

"Yes, I barely woke-up." Riku gracefully helped the young girl sit up on the bed. "Sorry if I kept you waiting Kairi, but I've had a lot on my mind in the last few days." The older vampire apologized by pressing his soft lips to the back of Kairi's small hand. Kairi could not help but giggle childishly at Riku's chivalrous etiquette. It was in his nature to be a charming gentleman; the dashing debonair women swooned for.

"Selphie said you had a surprise for me Riku."

"Yes, I've spoken with Nero. He has given you and Selphie permission to stay in Vienna for a while.

Kairi bit her lower lip in slight resentment. "So……you want to get rid of me, Riku?"

Riku shook his head a little. "No. I want you to go to Vienna for a while so that you and Selphie will be out of harm's reach. There is a war threatening to spill between Virtue's Council and the rebel group Anima Mundi."

"So, what does that have to do with me Riku?"

Riku frowned. He wanted to lose his gentleman's decorum and shake the imprudent young vampire girl to her senses. Just because he couldn't return her feelings in the way that she wanted, that did not mean that he didn't feel a brotherly type of love for her.

"Shinra has officially become The Prince for the area of New Your City. He has been trying to pass a law against all 'thin bloods' like you and Selphie. To put it simply, he dislikes all 'thin bloods' and wishes to kill them. On top of that, Shinra plans a war against Anima Mundi. You're no longer safe in here anymore. I just……"

Riku sighed. What could he do to make her truly aware of her situation? She had been abandoned by her sire because she was reborn into the vampire world as a thin blood. Her vampiric blood was so weak that she had no powers, virtually no strength, and no preternatural abilities. What could she possibly do against the vicious world of the underworld? Nothing. Kairi was practically in limbo; unwanted by the vampire world and clinically dead for the world of the living. That was Kairi's curse.

"Kairi, I don't want you to be here when the bomb goes off. It is a dangerous place for you. You and Selphie will be safer with Nero's coven for the time being."

"Don't you understand Riku?" Kairi jumped off the bed and closed the small distance between them; pressing he lush, pink lips against Riku's cold unresponsive one's. All that Riku could do at the moment was to push her gently away.

"We've been over this before Kairi. I don't feel the same way about you." The jade-eyed vampire took Kairi's chin between his thumb and forefinger to tenderly force her to look at him in the eyes.

"**I do not love you**."

"But Riku…?"

"You **will** leave for Nero's coven in Vienna, tonight. Your friend Selphie **will **accompany you. Tidus and Wakka **will** escort you to Vienna and stay with you for your protection."

Riku's voice was authoritative. He was speaking as the lord and master of Crystal Raven's Flat and not as Kairi's friend or brother type figure.

"I hate you…" Kairi hissed angrily at Riku before turning around and leaving the older vampire alone with his thoughts.

o o o

**Crystal Raven's Flat 11:56 p.m.**

"Sweeet…friggin' sweet!" Reno commented while browsing though the new furniture that had arrived for project SORA's room.

"Damn right!"

Axel gave a low, appreciative whistle at the massive red cherry wood furniture. "Its like a James Bond type of movie kinda shit!" Axel continued to babble excitedly. "Security features by finger print encoding and recognition with security grid panels for combination type locks. Whoo! That shit's tight man!" Axel opened one of the drawers to find two guns crossed together atop whit shirts. Two platinum covered guns with the inscriptions: Bloody Rose Cross Gun engraved in elegant Old English type letters, to be exact. Axel wanted to hold the two guns in his hands. He could just picture himself firing those two cool looking guns.

Damn they're tight……

"Fuck! Those damn Primogens from the council should spoil **us** like that too." Axel mused before leaning against the glass casing.

"You of all people are the one to least deserve that kind of attention, Axel!" A spiky haired blonde yanked at Axel's right ear.

"Ow………!"

"And get your filthy hands away from that protective glass. You break it, you pay it!" The feisty blonde yanked at Axel's right ear even harder.

"Ow…Ow. Ow……sorry babe!"

"You better be Axel!"

_Hahaha_ Reno was doubled over with laughter before cold, blue eyes froze him in his spot.

"What are you laughing at 'Little Debbie'. You're in trouble too. Tifa wants to see you. What you guys think you could cuss out a storm without us ever knowing about it? Fat chance!"

Reno gulped in fear. He knew better than to leave her beloved little Tifa waiting.

"Wait, Roxas." The serious tone in the man's voice made him halt in his tracks. Roxas turned around to see Vincent Valentine leaning casually against a white column.

"Riku wants Axel and Leon to investigate one of the abandoned warehouses owned by Anima Mundi."

Roxas let go of Axel's right ear and the pyrokinetic began to rub his ear soothingly against the pain.

"Aw……" Axel whined. "Not with that bastard!"

As if Axel's words had been his cue to make his grand entrance, Leon jumped from the third floor and landed casually in front of the red-head Axel. Within a few seconds, Leon was dragging the complaining Axel by the right ear once again.

"Come on Flame-y Locks. **Move it**."

"Ow…Ow……Ow! What happened to the original Goldie Locks story, eh Leon?" Axel shot indignantly.

"Nothing." Leon punctuated by smacking the back of Axel's dark demin jeans playfully; a cold glare in his dangerous blue gray eyes.

"Hey!"

"I find you much cuter. Now **move it** before I put a silver bullet through you, **Flame-y Locks**." Leon ordered

"Hey!" Axel wiggled out of the older man's grasp and smacked his hand away. "Who died and put **_you_** in-charge here?"

Leon couldn't help but smirk at Axel's ignorance. "Riku did, got a problem kind? Tough go tell it to someone who cares."

"Keep him in line for me, ok Leon." Roxas requested from behind them.

"Babe……!"

"Sure thing Roxas, count on me to keep this flirt in line. **Now move it Axel**." Leon ordered while shoving Axel out the door.

"What are you thinking Roxas?" Vincent's serious voice broke through the silence after Axel and Leon had left.

"I was thinking that Riku is…not very pleased by Shinra's decision to send someone over."

"Never trust Shinra, Roxas. Never forget that he is out there for his own benefit. He is no prince but a spoiled brat. I he sent someone to join our group it is either to spy on us or wipe us out. Best to be on your guard Roxas."

"Why…?" Axel shot defiantly. "Why do they hate those who are different, who believe different than what they believe? Why do they have to oppress us with stupid rules! The same rules that prevent lycanthrope Leon to be in love with vampire Cloud, the same rules that prevent you form being with Lucrecia because she is a gifted scientist and you're nothing but a lab freak!"

Roxas could not help but to groan in exasperation. He dreamed of the day in which lycanthropes could go about town without the fear of being hunted down like wild beasts. The underground shelters were full of lycan women protecting their little cubs from vicious hunters. The people from the shelters were poor, dirty, hopeless, and broken.

"Calm down, Roxas. I know what your species has to go through, but that is why we decided to join Riku; so that we can defy their senseless rules, so we can stop their ludicrous slaughter towards your kind."

"I know, but we're still not enough. I mean……we could be so much more, Vincent."

"What do you mean Roxas?" Vincent asked suddenly with suspicion clear in voice. Roxas sighed profoundly and shook his head.

"Nothing, Vincent…its nothing."

Vincent's crimson colored eyes watched as the spiky-haired blonde walked out of the mansion's foyer.

o o o

**Crystal Raven's Flat 1:00 a.m. **

Rude, Raven's Flat nightly security guard fixed his ultra sleek, ultra modern sun glasses as he casually flipped through the pages of today's news paper. Stopping in his favorite section of the news paper, Rude carefully read his horoscope.

_**Scorpio: October 23 to November 21 **_

_You will have an encounter with someone special today, but be careful because you have a tendency to make quick judgments based on people's appearance. Remember that appearances can be deceiving._

**_Today's lucky color: Blue;_** **_Today's lucky number: 14_**

Rude scoffed indignantly at his horoscope and lowered the noisy piece of news paper only to be surprised by a pair of beautiful sapphire eyes staring directly at him.

"I need to speak to Riku, please. Where can I find him?"

Rude almost jumped off his cushioned stool. "Jezz kid! Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry, but I really need to speak to Riku. I need to see him. Where is Riku?"

Rude scoffed again.

_**The nerve of this little runt……**_

"Look, Kid. Riku is attending a very important matter. He doesn't have time to play with **you **right now, so buzz off little kid."

The young man tilted his head musingly; eyes locked into Rude's eyes with amusement.

"Can you tell Riku that Sky Lionelly was here to see him? I'll be at Café Noir."

"Yeah, yeah kid. Now get out of here before I call your mom besides, you are way past **your** bed time kido."

The blue-eyed boy only gave Rude a brief smile then disappeared somewhere out in the rain.

o o o

**New York's Streets 2:00 a.m.**

Darkness and rain seemed the perfect, soothing combination to give Riku peace of mind as he walked through the deserted streets of the city. After accompanying his best friends Selphie and Kairi as well as his comrades Tidus and Wakka to the airport, he had decided to take a walk to clear his plagued mind. All through the ride to the airport, Kairi had been mad at him, Selphie had been overly hyperactive, and Tidus had been trying to control Selphie's spontaneous outbursts, while Wakka tried to please Kairi in her awful mood. The journey had been a complete chaos. Riku sighed heavily.

_When did a small drizzle turn into a heavy downpour in such a short time_……

_Ha_…the silver blonde vampire had to chuckle at nothing in particular. He had decided to take a walk back to Raven's Flat just as the weather decided to be capricious and start a monsoon. He watched with apathy as the people scattered about town in a feeble attempt to take cover from the rain. Taking cover under his umbrella he walked idly about town. He would reach Crystal Raven's in a matter of minutes.

With another weary sigh, the tall vampire directed his emerald-colored eyes toward the red crossing stop sign. That's when he saw him; a young male about seventeen or eighteen with brown spiky hair even spikier than Roxa's unruly mass of hair. The shorter brunette was sitting in one of the benches near the stop bus stop. His legs were curled up to his chest and his chin resting on his knees in a boyish fashion while getting soaking wet under the heavy, pouring rain. What most unnerved Riku at that moment; was when the petite boy directed his brilliant, sapphire-blue eyes toward Riku in acknowledgement of his presence. The silver blonde could have sworn his breath hitched it his lungs for the three seconds that their eyes connected. However, the magic was broken when the petite brunette decided to break their eye contact and revert to his previous position on the bench.

What was that strange glimmer in those beautiful blue eyes?

Riku's interest was immediately aroused by the appearance of the stranger. He wanted to know what kind of a creature the petite boy was. There were so many possibilities…he could have been an angel, a demon, a ghost, a mortal, lycanthrope, or vampire. It did not matter to Riku because his mind coaxed him to investigate. The blue-eyed boy was definitely beautiful enough to be a vampire; he was petite and fragile enough to be a mortal and angelic enough to deceive anyone.

With graceful speed, Riku closed the small gap between them to shield the pristine creature under the safety of his umbrella. The smaller boy snapped his head up to see the person who hovered above him; cool, aqua-green eyes looking back at him with interest. Riku wasted no time to scan the boy's features. He had beautiful creamy skin, delicate features in a proportioned body, and body heat emanating from his body. By the way the smaller boy was holding a half empty bottle of water, Riku came to the conclusion that the boy was a mortal. But if the boy was indeed a mortal, what was he doing here, all alone in a dangerous place like this at tow in the morning? Riku decided to investigate further.

"Hello. Why are you here all alone, in such a dangerous place so late at night?" Riku asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"I'm waiting for someone." Was the petite boy's curt reply.

"Who are you waiting for?"

"It's a secret." The spiky-haired brunette said with a brief wink.

"Can I at least have a name, or is that a secret too?" The green-eyed vampire responded with a seductive and confident smirk.

"Sure…" The boy uncurled from his position on the bench and extended his right hand towards Riku. "Sky. Sky Lionelli." He said with a goofy grin.

"Sky Lionelli, huh…?" The vampire slowly repeated the name while savoring its gentle tone. "In that case here, have my umbrella, Sky. It will protect you from this drenching rain."

The boy named Sky shook his head slowly; refusing the help given to him. "Nah…you keep it. Besides, it is enough to have one person utterly soaked instead of two."

Riku was surprised to find that his dominion abilities were not having an effect on his target. Perhaps Riku was losing his touch after all. Even his persuasion and seduction abilities had had no effect on the boy. That was very, very strange. Riku was a master with those abilities and up until now, everyone had succumbed to his powers.

"Have it your way." The handsome vampire chuckled briefly. He had no time to waste in someone who was immune to his powers. Perhaps another day when he was not so occupied, Riku would he try to seduce this slithery target. "Well then, I must really get going now. It was a pleasure meeting with you Sky…maybe we could see each other some other time until then, be careful." Riku offer the boy fair well then turned to leave.

o o o

**Crystal Raven's Flat 3:58 p.m. **

"It was bogus, just a false alarm!" Axel reported to Riku.

Leon and Axel had arrived to Crystal Raven's a short while ago and they were having a private meeting in Riku's study. By the exasperated look on their faces, the master of Crystal Raven's could see that it had been another false lead.

"However……" Leon interrupted and handed a small, gold gilded envelope to Riku. "We did find a note. The note is addressed to you."

"It's like those shitty bastards are leading us on. They leave us notes and evidence and we can't still track them down! They're messing with us, Riku." Axel was boiling with anger.

"Calm down Axel! We don't want you to start a fire like last time." Riku demanded. He flipped the envelope to find Anima Mundi's seal stamped in the back. Care fully breaking the seal, Riku read the letter.

_**Dear Master of Crystal Raven's Flat,**_

_**We were sorry for the attack that we conducted to some of your men in Glacier Prison. **_

_**We sincerely hope they are all right now. We have been informed that you have been assigned by Shinra to hunt us down. Let us in Anima Mundi assure you that we are every where, but do not try to contact us. In due time we will contact you, possibly shortly today or tomorrow. The question here is our esteemed Riku:**_

**_Are you ready to learn the one and absolute truth?_**

_**Sincerely, **_

_**The members of Anima Mundi**_

"Where did you find this-"

Ring…ring……ring………..

The sounds of the telephone interrupted their precious meeting. Turning the dreaded machine on, Riku braced himself to face Shinra in a videoconference report.

"To what do we owe this sudden intrusion, Shinra?"

"Ah…always so aloof Riku, nut I'd rather not discuss such important matters with such……lowly creatures."

Shinra offended Leon and Axel accordingly by pointing at them; while Leon tried his best to hold down Axel's explosive temper.

"Leon and Axel stay here, Shinra. You have something important to tell us? You better do it in-front of us all." Riku stated coldly.

"Very well…I just called to inform you that project Sora got in a different plane than the one destined for him. Apparently the plane that was headed to New York for tomorrow was canceled and they decided to book him an early flight. He should have arrived already and reported to you." Shinra said confidently.

"No, we've heard nothing of that. Let me check." Riku reached for the black phone near his desk and called Rude.

"Yes Sir."

"Rude, has someone important come here today?"

"No, just some barely potty trained kid by the name of Sky Lionelli came looking for you today."

Riku's eyes widened in sudden realization as to whom he had met outside of Café Noir today.

"_I'm waiting for someone."_

"Well that's him." Shinra assured with a smirk. "Sky Lionelli is Sora's human alias. We had him used his alias in order to avoid him being tracked by our enemies, but I'm sure I told you that."

Riku twitched in anger. "No. I guess **you** forgot to give us all that important information from the start."

"Don't tell me that kid was? No way!" Rude exclaimed in amazement.

"Well, where did he say he was going to wait?" Leon asked. "Maybe we can go get him."

"That won't be necessary Leon. I already know where he is." Riku shut down the video conference and darted out the door.

_To be continued… _

o o o

**_Author's comment: _**Who! I finished the story just in time. Sorry because I intended to make the story a little longer, but because I wrote the one-shot story Friends With Benefits this week also, I didn't have time to do all that I planned. So in order to make up for it, I decided to post some brief spoilers about my story. Beyond this line, it is up to your discretion if you want to read or not.

1.The beginning of the stories always commence with a story. This is a little independent story on how the vampires were first born. Everyone is having these dreams on occasion, but they are told in a story format hence the title for this story.

2.What happened 29 years ago, is actually one of Sora's memories before he became a vampire. This will be regarded briefly in the next chapter.

3.Don't get confused with Kairi's appearance now. In the 29 year span, she was turned into a vampire, but because she was a weak vampire (thin blood) her sire abandoned her to her own fate. Riku met her and took her under his protection. I will not go further into detail of what happened to Kairi, unless you review and request for me to do it. If you want to know just tell me.

4.I wrote this chapter in order to get the characters and the stage settled for the rest of the story. Next chapter will be Project Sora part 2 and the plot really thickens from there.

5.Keep an eye on Axel and Cloud because their rebellious behavior will be an important part of this story.

**Here is the list of Riku's Group and the member's of Crystal Raven's Flat. **

**_Riku:_** Leader of Crystal Raven. Sephyroth's childe.

**_Lycanthropes:_** Roxas, Axel, Leon, Barret, Cid, Rude

**_Vampires:_** Riku, Reno, Tifa, Cloud, Yuffie, Tidus, Wakka

**_Thin Bloods_**: Selphie, Kairi

**Jenova type vampires:** Sora, Vincent


	4. Project Sora part 2 complete

Cruel Fairy Tales

By: Katan Yue

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Warning:** This chapter contains elements of horror.

**Special thanks to:** realdarkangel, AkaShiChick, Crazy Hyper Active Kitsune, dead edged blade, Feather-chan, and Moonyasha. Your reviews made the completion of this chapter possible! I can't thank you guys enough! I just hope I didn't let you down with the completion of this chapter.

**_FYI:_** This is by far the longest chapter I've ever written. To those who have read the teaser, you will find a **OOO** line like the one after By: Katan Yue. This signals the continuation of this complete chapter. This chapter did not come out as intended because the whole chapter was longer that twenty-five pages (and ongoing), so I've split it into 2 chapters, one which is this chapter; Project Sora part two, and the next one which will be titled: Sora's Secret (after I finish it).

**_This is a very important chapter, so please don't try to skim over it. Thank you_**.

Chapter four: Project Sora part 2

**OOOOOOO**

_When Jenova regained consciousness, she found herself in her royal chambers as the high fever, small scratches, and puncture wounds in her skin were being tended by the royal healers._

"_Queen Jenova, how many times were you warned not to go near that accursed…thing!" The royal advisors chided the young, foolish queen._

"_By the holy goods! What happened to you out there my child?" Jenova's nanny cried worriedly at the superficial cuts and scratches found in the queen's slender body. "You see what happens when you do not listen to your elders?"_

"_Everyone, please, be thankful that the merciful gods retuned my beloved queen alive and mostly unharmed. You all know that there are even more dangerous things out there than big rocks falling from the sky. Scoundrels and thieves could have kidnapped her or worse, they could have killed her. Please Jenova...do not commit such stupid, reckless acts again!" Jenova's much older husband commanded full of concern for her imprudent wife. All that Jenova could do was to remain quiet and accept the consequences for her foolish ideas. She too was secretly thankful to the merciful gods that she had not died that fateful day when she decided to investigate the meteor. _

_Although everything appeared to be normal for Jenova after the meteor incident, slight changes were gradually taking change in her body. At first, Jenova's once sun kissed skin began to pale little by little._

"_Jenova, your skin seems a little pale. Have you been staying in the palace too long? Perhaps a walk in the vast gardens should improve your light complexion_…_" _

_The people close to Queen Jenova began to notice that her once intense brown eyes that shown great compassion began to fade into a gentle trace of red,_

"_Oh my child_…_! Look at your eyes! When did your eyes become so faded…?"_

_But because the changes were too slow and steady, the people, including the king never suspected that something was wrong. He made love to her queen every night in hopes to acquire an heir to his kingdom and everyone attributed her weight loss, pale skin, and the loss of color in her eyes, to the fact that she was pregnant. Nine months later, Jenova gave birth to a baby boy with the same tanned skin as her and her husband. The baby's eyes were very unusual, they were a mixture between an amber-y yellow and slight orange, but despite of that difference everyone in the kingdom was happy._

"_We shall name him Ansem, for he will be known far and wide, throughout every kingdom as Ansem the Wise_…_" _

OOOOOOO

_**Crystal Raven's: A day after Sora's arrival **_

"Ahh……"

Sora gasped himself awake at the first sight of danger; his body instantly propelling to protect him from what at the time, it considered to be eminent danger. Even before his eyes could open, Sora's mind and body were acting on the basic instinct of survival. With the helpful use of telekinesis, Sora was able to push both presences in the room to a less threatening distance and the presence of most danger for the time being was sent hurling against the opposite wall of the room. The clanking of what appeared to be a heavy metal, sword, igniting his senses to react to the slightest movements.

"Ow…ow…ow!"

Sora heard one of the intruder's voices hiss in pain before he was able to fully open his eyes. To Sora's knowledge, all vampires were born with the innate ability to subconsciously protect their bodies from any harm. He knew that any normal, sleeping vampire would kill anyone who came within a close range of the vampire's sleeping body. This was a defense mechanism found in all vampires, but because Sora was not a normal vampire, his innate ability to protect his body was increased ten fold. Sora's body knew how to distinguish from different kinds of threats. While sleeping, his body would allow anyone close as long as the person did not carry any weapon, or had the intentions of killing him.

Sure enough, when Sora opened his eyes he saw a spiky-haired blonde that was being pressed against the wall by his power. The blue-eyed, blonde vampire resembled Sora for the exception of the age and his corporeal mass. The blonde vampire was much older than Sora and therefore, much taller and heavier than the petite brunette. Still using his telekinetic powers, Sora pressed his blonde, spiky-haired double closer against the wall when his eyes focused on the large, metal sword covered in white bandages that lay embedded against the white-tiled floor.

"You can relax, Sora. I can assure you that Cloud won't hurt you."

"Cloud? He won't hurt me…?"

Sora turned towards the suave, casual voice to give him a skeptic glare. Somehow, the small vampire did not sense any further danger coming from Cloud, so reluctantly he released his hold on the other vampire and lowered him to the floor. Cloud sighed in relief as his body hit the cold-tiled floor. His body and tensed muscles relaxed without the powerful pressure and his blood did not feel like hot fire inside of him anymore. He was silently thanking Riku for his help.

"Of course I won't hurt you." Cloud retorted while rubbing the back of his aching head.

"Then why are you carrying a weapon?"

"Ow…I'm a mercenary, mercenaries carry weapons, mercenaries are supposed to be prepared, jeez man… relax, no one's out to get you."

"Oh…sorry about that…it is just-"

"Instinct." Riku interrupted and the other two turned towards him in surprise.

"Yeah…it is." Sora agreed by nodding.

"Anyways Riku, I just came here to ask you about the meeting today. There is a meeting, right?" Cloud looked questioningly at Riku.

"Yes, there is a meeting today. According to Shinra, Sora has very important information to share with us today, so I am scheduling a meeting in an hour."

Riku turned to Sora and gave him something that could only describe as a mixture between a seductive smirk and a sly smile. He gave instructions to Sora on how to get to the meeting room, and then prompted Cloud to follow him out of the room.

"What are you trying to pull out here, Riku?" Cloud asked with a raised eyebrow to the silver-blonde vampire standing next to him.

"Why do you say that?" Riku chuckled slightly.

"I've known you since Sephiroth sired you, Riku. You are a natural seducer and a heartbreaker to boot. Let's just say that I've noticed that little morbid fascination of yours for the boy which by the way, you only met yesterday. Why is that Riku?" Cloud turned towards the younger vampire expecting an answer.

"I wouldn't call it a 'morbid' fascination, Cloud. It is just that…it has been a while since…"

"Somebody was able to stir your curiosity because they didn't succumb to your charming abilities?"

"There is that too, but there is something else…I just can't put my finger on it right now……something different. I want to know why he is immune to my powers."

"So that is all, mere curiosity? Hate to sound cliché Riku, but you are playing with fire here. Take my advice and stay away. Have you forgotten about Amelia?"

"What? Do you know something that perhaps I don't know?"

"He is not normal." Vincent's dark, rich voice interrupted from the shadows.

"Excuse me?" Riku asked.

"Jeez Vincent, don't ever scare me like that!" Cloud growled softly giving his red-eyed friend a severe warning glare.

"I just know that Shinra's pet is different, I can feel it. He is not like you or Cloud, or any of you here."

Riku raised a delicate, thin silver eyebrow as he waited for Vincent to elaborate more on his comment, but Cloud interrupted once more before he was able to question Vincent any further.

"Are you going to tonight's meeting?"

"No, I need to see someone tonight……gather more information too."

Riku could not help but give Vincent a knowing smirk. The notorious, mysterious Vincent Valentine was going to go see Lucrecia Crescent, his eternal love.

OOOOOOO

For once, Sora was thankful to be a vampire. He did not have the need to readjust to his surroundings once he had awakened. The state of grogginess after sleep was only human and not vampiric. After fixing his bed to an impeccable appearance, the lithe brunette got the appropriate clothes sprawled across the bed, and darted towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. Ten minutes later, a perfectly dressed youth stood near the dresser finalizing the last touches to his uniform. Looking at himself in the mirror, the small vampire covered his hands with a clear hair-gel and swiftly graced it through his chocolate brown hair and bangs to create that spiky, unruly effect.

It was amazing what a formal suit could do to an individual; in Sora's case, a complete difference. The petite boy looked about a year or two older while dressed in a black Armani suit especially designed for Shinra's high ranking soldiers and scientists. He had a white dress shirt accompanied with a crimson tie, black slacks, and a black overcoat that was thigh high from the front and completely long from the back; which ended just above his black polished dress shoes. To give the suit a less formal military look, there was a sash-like belt tied diagonally around the right shoulder that connected with a loose belt tied around his slim waist. Sora was used to wearing this uniform for meetings all the time. As part of Shinra's Special Forces, Sora was expected to look impeccable everywhere he went. He knew what was expected of him and he followed without complain. Sora finalized the outfit by adding small, dangling pendant in the form of a Roman Cross on his left ear. The military uniform seemed a little European, but what could Sora expect if he had been in Europe all this time.

**Crystal Raven's: Meeting Room 8:45 p.m.**

A few minutes before the meeting was to take place, Sora had already prepared his presentation. The projectors, data, archives, and other information had been connected from his laptop computer to Crystal Raven's main frame computer. Seeing as how everything was set, Sora decided to contact Shinra from his top-of-the-line sleek cell phone with video conference camera attached.

"It is Project Sora D3-8585 here reporting for duty."

"So, how are things progressing in Raven's Flat?" Shinra asked with major interest.

"The meeting is due in about eleven minutes. Do you think it is that important for them to go tonight?"

"Yes, I see. Then I shall warn them to go well prepared for this mission."

Shinra sat back in the white limousine's velvet covered backseat with a devious smile in his thin lips. He had a plan to get rid of many birds with one stone **_if _**possible. After tonight's massacre all he had to do was recover the bodies for examination and his life was all set. But, he had to make things look like an accident unless he risked mutiny with the already rebellious Riku and his band of miscreants. Shinra had everything well calculated for this mission.

"I want Riku to lead this mission. I expect him to do a good job tonight. I have already sent the three airline ticket to Italy. Have you received them?" Shinra watched the petite soldier nod his head once to assure him that he had the tickets."

"If I am under Riku's command then who else is going to come with us tonight?"

"Actually D3-8585, **_you_** are not going to go with them tonight. I have received confirmation that the Rose- Red Ruby is in Mirnai's mansion.**_ If_** it is true that Jenova's heart is there, then we need it in order to be able to awaken her. **_You_** shall go get it tonight."

"Yes Sir."

"Oh, and one more thing D3-8585, I want you to refrain from telling Riku and his……cronies about his special abilities. Do you understand D3-8585?"

"But… Shinra, Sir. That man is very dangerous we must warn them."

Shinra gave a burdened sigh. Project Sora D3-8585 was too righteous for his own good.

"Think of it as a test, D3-8585. If **_they_** are not able to pass this test, then **_they_** are not worthy of being entrusted with this mission. Fai quello che devi fare. (1)"

Sora looked reluctant for a split second, but then he gave into Shinra's order. Perhaps there was a way to warn them without being too blatant about it. "Yes, Sir! Come desideri (2)" Sora acknowledged the command and ended their conversation when everyone else started gathering in the meeting room.

Shinra had a pleased smile on his seemingly, angelic face. Everything was falling easily into place. Cell phone in hand, Shinra dialed the number of one of the most important generals of the Elite Council.

"Amon speaking…" Came the gruff voice from the other end of the line.

"Amon, I want you to send the special Hades Unit to Albano Laziale immediately. Do you understand the importance of this situation? I want you to get rid of Riku……**_tonight_**…… do not disappoint me, Amon."

Shinra heard a non-committal grunt from Amon, followed by a loud click of the phone. This angered the Prince of New York City in many levels, for he was supposed to have compliance and submission from every vampire in the city. Still, he knew that Amon would do his job.

OOOOOOO

Riku stood there in front of most of the members at the meeting looking as regal and charming as ever without being too formal or rigid. His layered, shoulder-length, silver hair, framed his beautiful face perfectly and his sleek, silver bangs hid his beautiful green eyes almost shamefully. He wore black slacks and black dress shoes also. Riku topped his elegant outfit by wearing a light, hunter green dress shirt that was left stylishly unbuttoned on the front; revealing a pale, well-toned, hair-less chest. He also wore an elegant, golden, filigree encased heart-shaped onyx pendant on his slender neck. Sora had to admit that Riku looked incredibly gorgeous and exceedingly cocky. Now he understood why Amelia the Proud, the most important, influential female elder in the council was fascinated by Riku. Too bad Riku's charm and good looks did not work on Sora. The petite brunette had no time for child's play.

Riku introduced most of his comrades to Sora; some of the other members would show-up on occasion. However, Sora learned the names of the regulars. He learned the names of both red-heads; werewolf Axel and vampire Reno. The blue-eyed blondes were Vampire Cloud; which he had met earlier, and the small werewolf named Roxas. He had already met werewolf Rude; the night security of the mansion, but he also met his counterpart Barret; the security guard during the day. Leon was the leader of the pack of werewolves. He seemed strong and agile. He was definitely Riku's right hand man. The only female in the group was vampire Tifa. She seemed fragile, kind, and sweet, but she was the entire contrary. With just one strong handshake, Sora noted that Tifa was awfully strong. Her gentle brown eyes had the unrelenting, stubborn spark.

"You look so cute! Are you sure you're one of the mighty high-ranking elite soldiers? What's your name?" Tifa asked warmly, Axel rolled in amused laughter, and Roxas punched him angrily in the arm.

"Ow!" Axel whined at the rough punch he had received from the feisty blonde. "That hurt, Roxas!"

"_Ha_!" Roxas sneered and held up his fist. "You know better than to judge someone by their appearance, Axel."

And it was true, Axel knew better than to judge. Roxas was small and lean; he looked sweet and reserved, almost sheltered. But alas, Roxas was one aggressive strong fighter with an iron will. He was just a bit taller and older-looking than the guy sent by Shinra, but who knows, maybe they were underestimating the new guy just because he looked like a perfectly, well-crafted porcelain doll. On the other hand, Sora was taking the sight before him rather amused. For what he could detect, Axel and Roxas were a lot closer than friends; perhaps lovers? They were werewolves so it was difficult for Sora to detect it in their blood. The small soldier tilted his head to the left just a little. He added a pleasant smile and fixed his eyes on Tifa. He felt a lot more relaxed in this environment than at the council.

"I am a member of the Ancients' Elite Special Force soldier D3-8585, Sora. My human alias is also known as Sky Lionelli, at your service signorina Tifa. (3)" Tifa blushed slightly at the young boy's formality and good manners, while Reno gave her a look of utter disbelief. Sora instantly knew they were lovers; he could smell it in their blood. Everyone inside the meeting room mentally or physically grimaced at the name that the boy was given. Who would call you and treat you as if you were nothing but a number? Than was wrong.

"I assume you have some information for us if you set an urgent meeting for today." Riku's voice interrupted softly. Sora could see Riku's confident smile.

"You assume correct." Sora stated briefly. "I have gathered you here tonight because I have found important information about an ex-member of the organization Anima Mundi." Sora hit the enter key of his laptop computer and then waited for the information to appear on the projector's screen.

"As you all know, I've been sent to help you on the mission assigned to you. The mission is simple; track the members of Anima Mundi and report the information to Shinra immediately. Recently and through the help I received from the Underground Information Network, I have encountered a crucial part of information that led to the identity of an ex-member of said group."

"What is wrong with the Vampire's Information Network?" Tifa asked curiously.

The vampire's network was one of the vastest information sources around the world. The Lamia clan was in charged and there was no way a human intelligence network such as UIN (Underground Information Network) could surpass VIN's (Vampires Information Network) intelligence and perfectly organized data archive. Although the Lamia clan could sometimes be hard to work with because they hated and blamed Caelian vampires for their hideous deformities, there was no excuse to reject searching through their network. The Caelian clan, were the beautiful vampires that were the direct descendants of Jenova's kingdom which later became Rome, while the Lamia clan was vampires with heavy deformities caused when the Roman and Greek blood bond had joined. Tifa's thought ware soon interrupted when Sora spoke.

"No, I used UIN's network because there was nothing, no information in VIN's archives."

"And you were allowed inside by the members of UIN?"

Oh…Leon instantly regretted voicing his question out loud. Of course that Sora could mesh with the mortal hackers at UIN! The kid was practically human. He had slight body heat, creamy complexion, a little heartbeat that pounded inside his chest, and he was as young as most of their hackers, but wait… wasn't Sora a vampire? So how could Leon sense the boy's body heat and heart beat? Vampires were clinically dead. They had no pulse, no heartbeat, no body heat, and no pigment on their skin until fed. So if the boy was a vampire, shouldn't he be as pale and cold as Riku, Tifa, Reno, and the other vampires?

"Yes, I was designed to fit into most…places."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

_**Designed**_

There it was that word again. What did they mean by _designed_?

"At any rate…" Sora continued as a projection of figures and images appeared before them. "He is the new target, the ex-member of Anima Mundi…"

The projection of a balding, black-haired, brown-eyed male in his forties appeared on the screen. The information kept popping out on the screen like the Niagara Falls until it finally stopped on the man's personal profile. Apparently, the man had had a rundown with the cops too many times.

"His real name is Dottore Armando Lombardi, sex; male, his age is 49 years, his stature is six feet two inches, and his range of vision 18/20. His other aliases include: Merrick Moretti, Jason Rizzo, Michael Giordano, Scott Conti, Alfredo Ricci, Alexandro De Luca, and plenty of other aliases. He has criminal record in almost every part of the world. His felonies include: white collared fraud, ties with the mortal mafia, and rape. His crimes were committed after his desertion of Anima Mundi. Currently, Dottore Armando Lombardi is residing in Albano Laziale, Italy."

"Woa…! This guy's record is at least a mile long." Reno whistled in a low tune as he eyed the projector.

"But, this is not all that Armando Lombardi is. You can also add 'indiscriminate extortionist' to the ever growing list of crimes."

"How so?"

Riku asked with growing interest, hands clasped together on the meeting table, feline eyes glistening intangibly with the projector's bright light, all his attention directed towards the petite vampire.

"Lombardi has recently deserted the Anima Mundi ranks, and he is selling information to the highest bidder; of course, the highest bidder in the market being Shinra himself. About a month ago, Lombardi sold the information to Prince Shinra, but he withheld important information about Anima Mundi, until his irascible demands and conditions were met."

"But let me guess…" Riku interrupted; his voice dripping with bitter sarcasm. "…Shinra got tired of Lombardi's circus act and decided to annihilate him, and that's when he weaseled out into hiding. Now, you were sent to track the tunnel rat and bring him out to the surface, am I right?"

"Yes, that is correct. I am glad that your acute abilities to sniff-out conspiracies are astounding, Riku."

Sora slipped an indirect insult under the table at the platinum-blonde leader who intercepted it with a great smirk and an abundant supply of pride. Riku tucked his long, silver bangs behind his ears and gave a brief, seductive wink at Sora.

"Well, what can I say, **_I am that good_**…"

"And very modest to boot..."

Sora countered Riku, and all the other members could barely keep a straight face and hold their surging laughter. To their knowledge, that was the first time they had seen Riku's obvious advances fail so miserably.

"…still, Shinra entrusts you with the capture of 'tunnel rat' Lombardi. You, along with two other members of this coven will board a flight to Rome in Italy; from there you will travel an estimated 16.3 miles to Albano Laziale where Lombardi currently resides."

"What, you're not going with us?" Riku raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Unfortunately, no… I have other missions to do whilst I'm here."

"So why can't they send hot-shot Amon?" Reno interrupted.

"Amon has a great tendency to initiate violent blood baths which we are trying to avoid."

"Then why don't **_you_** go instead, seen as you were able to track down the snitch and all." Reno pointed out, but received a kick on his leg and a warning glare from Tifa telling him to stay quiet.

"I was sent to a very important mission tonight. I am afraid you guys will have to go alone. As a matter of fact…"

Sora pulled out a small manila envelope containing three airline tickets to Rome, Italy. He placed the tickets on the table and slid the tickets toward Riku who caught them without trouble. Riku looked at the airline tickets with a frown; the tickets were dated for that very same night, they were only given less than three hours to get ready.

_What is so urgent that Shinra wants us to go right now? That doesn't seem right. He is plotting something_… Riku carefully thought about the many possibilities. _Why doesn't Shinra want Sora to go_… Riku's suspicions were confirmed when Sora gave his next warning.

"Keep in mind that Lombardi is a mortal, but if he belonged to Anima Mundi once, you must be very careful. Do not underestimate him."

OOOOOOOO

After the meeting, everyone retreated to their posts for the exception of Leon and Axel who were having a private conference with Riku. Quickly they scanned through maps of both cities to formulate several strategies in case they were ambushed. Armando Lombardi was currently residing at Antica Abbazia resort, but the planned to lure him into a more secluded in a nearby abandoned warehouse where they would "question" their target.

"Leon, Axel, I want you two to come with me to Italy since you guys are the best suited if there is some confrontation. Be prepared for everything and anything. Shinra's request seems a little too urgent, if you know what I mean."

Both warriors nodded and left to make arrangements and preparations for their mission. Riku stayed behind in the conference room to strategize more plans to counter Shinra's, but was distracted by a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in…"

The door creaked open and the brunette vampire bounced into the room almost childishly. Sora had a neatly wrapped present in his small hands and beautiful expression full of excitement. Riku had to suppress a slight chuckle and instead welcomed the brunette inside of the meeting room. He eyed the younger vampire from top to bottom and noticed that he was wearing a different attire from the one worn at the meeting. Sora was dressed in a depressing jet black uniform with a long concealing military trench coat of the same color. Although the uniform was very appealing to the eyes, Riku concluded that the color was too sad for someone who looked in his sixteen or seven teens. When Sora took a few steps forward, Riku noted the silver Cross Guns at the side pockets located near the calves of Sora's jet-black cargo pants, and idly wondered how sexy it would be to peel off so many layers of clothing from the scrumptious brunette.

"So what's with the gift, Sora?" Riku greeted with his trademark smirk and the casual raise of one eyebrow.

"I wanted to take this special gift to someone, but since I wasn't allowed to go to Rome, I wanted to ask you if you would so kindly deliver the gift for me."

Sora requested half expectant that Riku would oblige; instead he got a little chuckle that unnerved him and raised an eyebrow in defiance.

"Sora, you know I don't work pro bono here. I want a little something in return too ya' know."

The brunette's eyes twitched ever so slightly. _Riku_…_you have some nerve. I'm going to help you guys 'pro bono' and you expect something in return?_ _Typical Riku_… Sora amusedly thought before plastering a playful expression on his face, he would surely show arrogant Riku.

"And…what do you want in return, Riku?"

"A kiss, just a simple kiss from you; that is all I ask."

Sora clenched his fists in anger. _I should have known that you would pull a stunt like that, Riku. You are just like Amelia said you would be; an egotistical, selfish jerk…! But, I'll show you that I'm not so easy to seduce and throw away like your other toys_…_hupmh_…… With the gracefulness of a butterfly, Sora walked the last distance between them and cupped Riku's baby smooth face with his small hands. Delicately he dived down to press a soft kiss in the corner of Riku's mouth; Sora's eyelashes fluttering and brushing softly against Riku's cheeks enticingly in the process.

"There…" Sora added coldly; placing the neatly wrapped box on the table. "…I held the end of my bargain, your turn." Smugly he slipped a white note paper on Riku's hand. "The person whom you're supposed to deliver the present is Siobhan Rui; her address is on that piece of paper. Make sure the present is handled carefully for it is very delicate."

But before a stunned Riku could react, Sora pivoted on his feet and left without saying anything else. The green eyed vampire sat cold on his seat. _Had the petite vampire flirted with him, or was he trying to drive him insane with his unintentionally sensual coquetry?_ Riku placed a hand over his left cheek; pinky finger lingering over the corner of his mouth where Sora had kissed him. His once amused smirk turned into a genuine smile. He was more determined than ever, to claim the brunette for his own.

OOOOOOO

**Rome, Italy 2:59 a.m.**

Almost five hours after the initial meeting, Riku, Leon, and Axel, had finally managed to make it to Rome. Because of the airplanes constant delays, they were force to use their vampiric abilities and fly a great distance to Rome. They were somewhat exhausted, but they had a task to complete. Somehow, Axel ended up carrying Siobhan's gift, and as usual, he was being a goof and shaking-up the box.

**_Jingle_…_jingle_…_jingle_……**

**Smack!**

"Ow…!" Axel yelped loudly when Leon smacked Axel over the head. Riku quickly caught the present before it fell from the red-head's clumsy hands.

"Stop playing with the box. It is supposed to be fragile." Leon ordered with his usual stern voice.

"Fuck…! You didn't have to hit me!" Axel groaned.

**Smack!**

"Watch your language."

"Damn it, Leon. Stop hitting me!"

_Via Dei Tulipani 50 apt. # 5_ Riku read the note and halted when they reached their first destination. "Quiet, Axel, we're here." Riku rang the doorbell to the modest apartment and waited for someone to answer. A few minutes passed before the door opened to reveal a curvaceous, lean, strawberry-blonde woman with sleek silver glasses and a long, white, lab coat. The woman's corporate nametag read; Siobhan Rui and she looked uninterestedly at the three young men standing in her doorway.

"What do you want? I have a lot of work to do if you don't mind." Siobhan asked indifferently while she stifled a big yawn. She was definitely a raging workaholic. It took several seconds before the three stunned young men could regain a more dignified composure and their dignity back after drooling for the hot babe. As smooth and suave as ever, Riku was the first to speak; instantly gaining Siobhan's attention.

"Sora requested that we deliver this present for you because he wasn't able to deliver the present himself." Riku politely handed her the box.

"Oh…Sora sent it to me? How cute of him. Remind me to give him a tight hug and a kiss the next time I see him." Siobhan winked seductively at the young men, and Axel was immediately smitten by her charming abilities. Riku and Leon had to discreetly nudge him for him to close his gaping mouth.

"Well, thank you guys. I really appreciate you bringing my gift to me."

The pretty strawberry-blonde said before closing the door right in their faces and walking inside her modest apartment. Roxas and Cloud had a displeased expression on their winsome faces. Roxas' hands were fisted tightly, and if he didn't have a mission to accomplish, he would smack Axel all over Italy for being such a big, obvious flirt. Cloud on the other hand was beyond furious and despite his cool uncaring expression, he was so close to stapling Leon's nuts to their bedroom door. This was the first time that Leon showed how smitten he was by someone and Cloud could not believe he was actually very jealous and so intensely possessive. The curvaceous scientist looked over her comrades' expression with interest and she wondered how fun their mission tonight was going to get.

"Settle down you two. Remember, we have to get rid of Lombardi before he loosens his tongue about us and our organization. No one can get to him except us, got that?" She chided the jealous duo.

"Urgh…Shalua Rui! That Axel bastard, I can't believe he's such a flirt! If Shinra doesn't kill him tonight……I WILL!"

"Calm down Roxas…" Scientist Shalua Rui laughed. "You know I'm not interested in your little red-head boyfriend…besides, I prefer a more _lez _…_be friends_ approach with girls." She gave them a brief wink to punctuate that she preferred girls over guys. "Oh…I almost forgot. Roxas, Cloud, I need you to give this envelope to Riku."

"What does it have inside?" Cloud asked before Roxas could ask the same question.

"A tape."

"A tape?"

"Yes, a tape that will expose some of Shinra's dirty little secrets. Make sure you guys watch it too. Now go, you have a mission to accomplish. Call me if you need backup o.k.?"

Roxas and Cloud used their teleportation spells to start their frantic search for one of their loose lipped ex-members. They had given him a chance to reform and he had betrayed them. Once they new members were gone, Shalua Rui slumped to the floor and looked at the gift box she was holding.

_Lucrecia, Rosso, are we sure that what we're doing the right thing to do? All of our lives_…_ all of our past reincarnations_…_ have led us to this moment, but we will take many people's lives in our wake. Is this the right thing to do? To fight for the liberty we lost so long ago? He has a lot more to loose than we do. He has already lost so much for us, for our liberty_……

Shalua carefully grazed her fingers over the baby-blue ribbon of the box. She slowly untied the ribbon and took a medium sized doll with a harlequin mask from the box. At the bottom of the box lay a white piece of paper, which she took and unfolded, reading the following words:

For Riku, Axel, and Leon, should they need more help with their mission.

Shalua covered her mouth with one hand and fought the urge to cry. She clung to the porcelain doll in a fierce hug against her body and closed her eyes tightly.

_Poor, poor Sora_……_you have no idea what there is in store for you. We're so sorry_………

OOOOOOO

The three men stood motionless for an instant before having to drag Axel to their next destination; Albano Laziale.

"Move it lover boy." Leon dragged Axel behind him. "If not I'll tell Roxas that you were smitten by Siobhan Rui."

"Oh yeah…then I'll tell Cloud you were smitten by her too." Axel threatened.

"Either of you be quiet or I'll tell both Cloud and Roxas." Riku warned after having to listen to his bickering friends.

"Oh…shut up or will report that to Amelia, then we'll see who has the last laugh." Axel and Leon both spoke in unison. Even though Riku had nothing to do with Amelia anymore, her jealous banter sent goose bumps up Riku's skin.

"We'll make deal…" Riku diplomatically settled the situation. "None of us tells what happened here tonight. Is that a deal?"

"It's a deal." The other two agreed.

By 4:05 they had reached Albano Laziale and were using all of their abilities to track Armando Lombardi. Finally, they were able to find their target sitting in a small coffee shop in Via Dei Capuccini. He sat on a small table on the front of the café staring at nothing in particular. Riku used that small framed opportunity to astral project his body so that it became a flashing mirage in Armando's eyes to lure him to the warehouse. As expected, Lombardi took the bait and followed the apparitions until he stopped in front of the warehouse. Getting suspicious at the nature of the apparitions, he immediately drew his guard up. He had already dispatched many individuals who wanted to claim his head for the juicy bounty, tonight was no different. Carefully, Lombardi stepped inside the warehouse, once inside the dark, secluded place only lit by moonlight; he opened his metal train case to psychically deploy twenty-one daggers around his body as a protective barrier.

Immediately his eyes focused on the body of a young, white-haired male that stood perfectly still in the middle of the empty room. His first instinct was to send four daggers at him; aiming them at the youth's heart. Immediately two other figures appeared from behind the large steel columns and blocked the daggers with their own strange shaped weapons. The red-head man with tattooed tears on his eyes immediately set a ring of fire around them to prevent his escape. The long, brown, shaggy-haired male sent bullets of fire from his gun/blade type of weapon.

_Damn_…_ are they pyromaniacs or pyrokinetics...?_

He always forgot the difference between the two. The youngest of the three males opened his aquamarine eyes. He rolled his head backwards and called a force of falling meteors which Lombardi barely had time to intercept with his daggers.

_Damn_…_they are also well coordinated too_…

_All right then_…Lombardi decided. It was time to change into his other half; after all, he was just a half mortal. The twenty-one daggers flew wildly about him creating a small tornado until they stopped to reveal a green colored man with black eyes and serpents for hair. He was the male version of Medusa. Fortunately for the three men, Lombardi could not turn anyone into stone.

"Who are you?" Lombardi hissed angrily as he dodged the blasts of fire; a few pieces of meteor making him stumble along the way.

"None of your business, got that memorized?"

Axel taunted mercilessly as he powered the ring of fire and cornering his prey. The reptile like creature was cornered, he had nowhere to run, no where to escape to, no one who would help. Desperate times called for desperate measures and so far he had procured the twenty-one daggers as his defense. Armando came to the conclusion that he would have one chance to attack his enemies. If he timed his attack just right, Lombardi could hurl the daggers at his opponents and successfully pin them to the concrete columns; where he would be able to kill them individually. However, Lombardi was not aware of the two men wearing cowls just above the thin ledge of the warehouse's second floor waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Cloud and Roxas were on opposite sides of the darkened building where Axel's fire could not reach; a form of mental communication passing between them.

_Well_…_at least Shelke's magic makes it hard for anyone to detect us, especially Riku, Axel, and Leon. Are you ready for this, Roxas?_

_Yeah, sure, but why do we both have to shoot at the same time? I'll shoot him in the heart, you will shoot his brains, and then we teleport the body to our HQ, right?_

Cloud sighed for an instant and then gave Roxas an explanation as to why they were doing what they were going to do.

_You shoot the heart to give the target an almost instant death, and you shoot the brain so that the enemy cannot extract their memories_…_that way, if we fail to take the body, the enemy will not be able to take the memories if any part of the brain has been tampered with. Are you ready?_

As soon as Lombardi let down his shield in order to attack, two gun shot sounds froze the three stunned warriors in place. The two bullets were quickly finding their target at the speed of lightning, and the two hooded figures were quick to snatch the body as soon as the bullets pierced through the dying man. In a flash of scattered white light, the two dark, cloaked individuals rushed and teleported away with the target's lifeless body.

"Shit…!"

Axel immediately cursed. His instantaneous reaction was to close the circle of fire and decimate anyone within it. Riku and Leon barely had the time to leap out of the scorching circle of fire before an aerial squad broke into the room from the windows and started to shoot. All the three warriors surveyed the scene before them; twelve soldiers were dressed in black uniforms equipped with riot gear. Immediately upon landing, Amon's soldiers dispersed around the ledge of the second floor; instantly hovering in advantage above their intended targets. They began their hail of silver bullets that pierced trough the concrete building while the targets retreated to the middle of the room, forming a back to back circle.

Leon tried sniping away at the soldiers with the fire bullets of his trusty gunblade, while Riku tried to shake the ground with a powerful sonic wave, but neither attack seemed to work so well when the riot gear deflected the fire bullets, and the ledge was far above the ground to receive the full force of the sonic wave. They knew Axel's fire shield would not protect them for very long, since their energies had been used on a previous battle. All three of them decided that if they were going to die that night, they might as well die with dignity, and so they concluded that they would use all of their energy in one attack that would wipe out the entire warehouse.

"It's been a pleasure knowing you guys." Riku commented with a smirk.

"Yeah, same here…" Leon agreed.

"Any last requests..?" Riku asked.

"Just one…" Axel's smirk rivaled that of his other two friends. "…If we get to see each other in our next lives, I want to discuss this fucking ordeal over a good old cup of tea. What do you say, huh..?"

"Deal…"

Leon and Riku agreed in unison and then all three of them prepared for their final attack. Leon concentrated all of his remaining power on his gunblade, elongating the blade to make long strikes cover a greater distance. He planned to cut the supports of the ledge, and then strike the ground to create a massive sonic wave that would shatter the foundations of the warehouse. Riku focused all of his power to summon a powerful gust that would in turn, disseminate Axel's long range firewall; thus making it work like an imploding bomb for the entire lot of the warehouse. They had combined these abilities several times before; however, they had never combined their abilities with all the magnitude of their power.

**_Jingle_…_jingle_………_jingle_…_jingle_…**

Soldiers and mercenaries were about to counter each other's attacks when the soft tinkle of many small bells echoed through the expansive warehouse. Immediately everyone turned to look at their surroundings to find only the tinkle of the bells. Shalua had teleported a small porcelain doll from the roof of the warehouse. She had arrived just in time to find the three mercenaries honing their power to make one final devastating attack. Being a scientist gave Shalua the ability to calculate that the three stooge's attack would primarily wipe at least a two block radius aside the warehouse's lot.

_Men_…_so stupid, so reckless_...

Shalua concluded before trying to teleport out of the warehouse's vicinity.

"Hold it right there…"

Amon's gruff voice froze Shalua in place, but before she stopped, both individuals had their guns poised at the temples of each other's forehead. "Who are you? Why are you here?" Amon questioned; not recognizing that the woman was Siobhan Rui, part of Shinra's elite scientist team. "That is for me to know, and you to find out." Shalua said lowering the silver gun to her side. "A mysterious cloaked individual standing at the rooftop of the warehouse helping out the enemy, how cliché…" Amon looked at the woman intently; almost hoping to unmask her cloaked identity. "Well, I tend to stick with things that work." Shalua countered. "Anima Mundi member, what did you do?" Amon pressed, slowly pulling the trigger of his gun; the clicking of the gun's mechanism, resounding in the stale atmosphere. "Watch and learn, Amon, watch and learn." Shalua managed to improvise a punch to the gut of her enemy while using the gun to shoot him on the left foot. With Amon's sudden distraction, Shalua made a run for the ledge of the building, jumping over it into sweet oblivion. Just before getting too dangerously close to the ground, she used a dematerialization spell that allowed her body to turn into particles and scatter about with the wind.

_Fuck_… _Who is that woman_… Amon's hissing thoughts drowned within his mind as he tried to overcome the pain of the punch and the shot to his foot.

OOOOOOO

After the sharp, eerie sounds of the bells had tinkled, a medium sized doll floated down to the ground; stunning everyone in her path. The atmosphere grew cold and the silence wad unbearable. Every person within the building could feel that something was terribly wrong. The doll gently descended, mahogany curls swaying gently with the breeze, the lace of her detailed Victorian dress being ruffled. Soon after the doll descended, the laughter and the harmonic voice of a spirit could be heard reverberating throughout the building. _Great_…Riku thought. _Now we have to deal with a vengeful spirit_. After the little laugh, the image of a six year-old girl appeared beside the doll with a smile. She started to sing a song that was chilling to the ears.

_**Time, Time**_

_**Give me your life**_

_**Grant me the power to take their lives**_

_**Time, Time**_

_**Over the grave**_

_**Under the life**_

**_Grant me my darkest desires_…..**

Riku, Leon, and Axel watched with horror as one of the simpleton soldiers did the first thing that was forbidden to do; anger a vengeful spirit by attacking their medium. The soldier, being fed-up with all the freak show, decided to break the doll by shooting her in the face. The harlequin mask immediately cracked in half, and shattered into several pieces to reveal a pair of icy blue eyes that glowed amber with the moonlight. The spirit looked angrily at all of the soldiers for a while before she decided to smile.

**_Play with me_……**

The spirit ordered and the doll began to move. Her thin, razor sharp hair extended to reach and embed themselves on the walls. The soldiers that were fortunate to move out of the way faced the horror of seeing three of their partners being pierced by the doll's hair, and the atrocity of seeing two of their men being decapitated. Crimson blood splashed all over the place as the decapitated bodies began to spill in great gushes of their warm blood. Those who were pierced by the doll's hair smeared their blood on the floor as they were dragged to the middle of the room. The straight, blade-like mahogany hair traveled through the three soldier's veins and took possession of their bodies. With the spasmodic movements of zombies, the possessed soldiers raised their guns and began to shoot their comrades with their automatic weapons. These soldiers fired their guns until the remaining seven soldiers were left convulsing on the floors; bleeding until the hot, red liquid trailed down the dingy ledge like a cascade. The girl with her doll smiled happily pleased about their little game. The doll returned to normal and the spirit walked out of the warehouse dragging the pretty, evil doll behind her.

Riku, Leon, and Axel stood frozen. They took the massacre before them with queasiness, but if they dared to move, the rancorous spirit might return to kill them, and as everyone knew, only wizards of great level could seal or manipulate these kinds of spirits. It wasn't until the temperature of the room became stable, that they made a frenzied attempt to exit the warehouse.

OOOOOOO

**Mirnai's Stronghold: One Hour Earlier **

"Hello, your husband looks kind of ill tonight." Sora's voice dripped with concern as she addressed an auburn-haired woman. The woman in her fancy cocktail dress gave her husband an irritated look.

_That damned drunk_…The woman thought wile dragging her husband to their car. He would always get drunk at any party and she had to excuse him each and every single time. Well, this time was the last time she was going to be ridiculed by her husband's drunken state.

Sora waved his goodbyes to the odd couple and surveyed the invitation left by the water fountain. _The Marino's, huh..?_

Sora did not waste any time in filtering into the well guarded mansion. He handed one of the Marino's invitation to the security team and began his innocent flirtation until the security guard was smitten by his charms.

"All right you can go in, but stay out of trouble, all right?"

"I always stay out of trouble." Sora replied with refined finesse.

And just with a charming smile, the subtle use of dominion, and a few innocently batted lashes, Sora was able to get into the well guarded mansion. He spoke with many people in his subtle exploration of Mirnai's extravagant home. Finally he reached the master bedroom. He made sure that no one was looking when he deactivated the cameras with his telekinetic abilities and snuck quietly into the master bedroom. He scanned the room from top to bottom to find no trace of the supposed Rose-Red Ruby. Just by the rare coincidence of fate, Sora was able to remove a book that lead to an underground passage. He fallowed the passage until he came to a room full of various surgical instruments. Soon he realized that the room was used as a clandestine operating room or an improvised morgue.

Quickly, Sora drew his silver, Bloody Rose Cross guns. He inspected the room to find severed limbs, several skeletons, and dead bodies sealed within a large walk-in freezer. At the end of the freezer-room, there was another heavily guarded door. He snuck behind the two preternatural guards and snapped their necks quietly. He placed the two cadavers on one corner of the room, and proceeded to hack the door's security lock pad by connecting his cell-phone to the security device and hacking the mansions control center. After a few minutes, the door buzzed open and he was able to enter yet another lower level of the mansion. The passage was very narrow; only one person could go through at a time with great difficulty. The lighting was dim and the adobe-like tunnel seemed at the brink of collapse. Still, Sora made his way down the long tunnel. The end of the tunnel led to an underground mausoleum. Sora gasped in amazement; the cave was full of bright lights, scattered graves, and mausoleum buildings.

He made it half way into the cave when the corpses began to claw their way out of the ground. The decaying corpses moaned loudly in protest to the intrusion. The zombies slow, spasmodic movements driving their lifeless bodies towards the fresh source of blood and flesh. Sora gasped in well concealed horror. He had not expected this. The hoards of zombies coming towards Sora were amazing to say the least. He shot the zombies closest to him. He made sure to shoot directly into the brain; as it was the most effective way to kill them. You could chop their bodies into minute pieces, shoot their brains out, or sever their spinal cord completely. With the help of celerity, Sora had managed to get out of the cave and into the Egyptian ancient burial tomb. In the process, Sora had used all of his gun's bullets. He considered dropping the guns and leaving them behind. He knew that empty guns equaled to dead weight on his body, which in turn, meant less range for his Acceleration Disciplines. Sora had been bitten several times as he traveled trough the corridors, rooms, secret chambers, and decoy treasure rooms.

Some rooms contained several zombies, while other rooms had no zombies, but other rooms were packed-full of hungry zombies. Instead of fighting zombies individually, he decided to use the most basic discipline of all vampires; the Protean Blood. The Protean Blood discipline was common for all vampires regardless of clan. The discipline consisted in changing the vampire's blood into one weapon; usually swords, shields, or daggers, but a blood mage like Sora, could change his blood into any array of bladed weapons. He could even produce more than one weapon at a time. In tight situations like this, Sora preferred to wipe as many enemies as he could with one shot. Sora had been running trough a hallway when the ground had collapsed; sending him straight into an enclosed tomb full of zombies. There was no door or window to escape from, so quickly he rolled-up his sleeve and cut all along his right arm. The blood that seeped from the cut was shaken up towards the roof.

_Blood Lancets_……

And Sora willed his blood to transform into lancets from the blood drops he had hurled into the sky. The blood lancets materialized and fell from the sky; effectively impaling the nearby dead corpses from the head into the ground and killing them. Sora used the opportunity to jump high enough to reach the edge of the hole that he had fallen into and pull him self up into the hall. Sora instantly collapsed to the ground as soon as he was safe from danger. His body cried in painful protest as the various cuts, bruises, and torn pieces of flesh tried to heal themselves. Sora's eyes closed a little only to open themselves when he felt the bite marks of three zombies. The zombies were still coming after him and his blood was running out. By instinct, Sora used his acceleration powers, trying his best to shake the dead corpses. It took a few seconds to dispose of the dead, but not before the rotting corpses took part of Sora's soft flesh. Still using acceleration, Sora made a mad man's rush towards the exit of the Egyptian crypt.

_Shit_…_I'm going to die here_…..

The small vampire thought desperately when he finally reached the cave's dead end. He had come to the last, exit-less room of the underground maze, the hoards of zombies coming close behind him and a few blood tablets that would not replenish his energy in time. _That is it_…_Shinra sent me to die here tonight_……_I'm not going to make it_….Sora dragged himself onto the end of the lavished medieval decorated room. He took a few steps until he collapsed in the middle of a circle of armors dating back to circa 18th century and waited for his certain demise.

_Use blood puppets_……_Sora_……

A voice whispered kindly inside of Sora, the warmth of the soft voice fueling his survival instincts. And then, a forgotten idea came from amidst Sora's desperation to survive. He could give life to the armors by using the last of his blood, and then he could take the dried blood capsules to replenish all of his lost blood. It would take time, but the strategy was definitely worth it. Cutting a deep line on his wrists, Sora smeared his blood on the metal armors.

"**_Give life to those who have no life_**……**_and give motion to those who are inanimate_**…**_"_**

The vampire's warm blood seeped into the metal armors as soon as last words of the incantation were pronounced. Temporary beings were created, placed into the soul-less steel shells with the only duty to protect their master. Red eyes gleamed violently inside the helmets and the fourteen armors gathered in a close circle around Sora. The newly created beings raised their weapons and started fending off the persistent walking corpses. Immediately Sora took the blood capsules, then laid in a fetal position on the floor to rest and recover. He closed his tired eyes; instantly falling asleep until next nightfall.

_To be continued…_

**OOOOOOO**

Fai quello che devi fare. (1)……… Do what you have to do.

Come desideri (2)…..as you wish.

signorina (3)…… Miss. Or a Young girl

I am sorry because to review your stories, I can only send private messages because my HP computer only displays a blank page when I try to review. **_At this point, I will start to answer any questions that you may have about this story._** If you have any questions, suggestions, comments, concerns, or you would like to review this story, you can send me a review or a private message and I'll be glad to write back as soon as I can.

**Katan Yue **


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